Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000042S
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00:22 Welcome to Timeless
00:23 Healing Insights. 00:24 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:26 We're jumping into the second 00:28 half of a two part 00:29 mini series 00:30 dealing with stress. 00:31 We're 00:32 looking at some amazing 00:32 parallels between 00:34 the immune system 00:35 and the stress system. 00:36 If you missed the 00:37 first episode, please, 00:38 by all means, jump 00:39 on to our website 00:40 at TimelessHealingInsights.org, 00:43 go to our TV program. 00:45 You can watch the video 00:46 or you can download the handout 00:48 for that program. 00:49 Well, 00:50 before we come back 00:50 to the topic, 00:51 let's ask for the Lord's 00:52 blessing in prayer. 00:54 Father in Heaven, 00:55 we thank You 00:55 that we can trust 00:56 You to guide us 00:57 as we try to better understand 00:59 our human frame. 01:01 These bodies 01:01 that You have fearfully 01:03 and wonderfully made. 01:04 Help us 01:04 to understand 01:05 how we can better deal 01:06 with the stresses 01:07 that face us in life. 01:09 We ask, in Jesus name, Amen. 01:13 We're looking at parallels 01:15 between the immune system 01:16 and how we deal with stress. 01:19 And what we're seeing is, 01:21 yes, there's 01:21 some general things 01:22 that are important, 01:23 but there's also specific 01:25 things that are powerful. 01:27 And what I want to let 01:28 you know is, 01:28 although we can't address 01:29 all these general things, 01:31 we are doing something 01:32 very special. 01:33 Many of you know 01:34 we have a health 01:35 focused outreach 01:37 here at the Fort Wayne Church. 01:39 We call it 01:40 Timeless Healing Insights. 01:43 And a few years back, 01:44 I wrote a book 01:45 called The Methuselah Factor. 01:47 And this book actually gives 01:49 a very good framework 01:51 for a general approach 01:53 to resiliency. 01:54 We're not selling the book. 01:56 We are letting you know 01:57 something that we're giving you 01:59 that book 01:59 much of its 02:00 most valuable content 02:02 in video form. 02:03 We have finished 02:04 a video production 02:05 that we're going 02:05 to be rolling out 02:06 through 02:07 TimelessHealingInsights.org 02:10 come June of 2023. 02:13 So we're going to 02:14 have a program. 02:15 All of you can enroll in it 02:16 no matter where you live, 02:17 no matter 02:18 whether you're visiting here 02:19 live, 02:20 whether you're 02:20 watching on television. 02:22 And Sunday, June 25th of 2023, 02:26 is the official launch date 02:28 for what we're calling 02:29 the Summer 2023 02:31 Performance Boost. 02:33 And the new series. 02:34 It's absolutely new video 02:36 series. 02:37 We've never featured 02:38 this on the website. 02:40 This is going to be called 02:42 Performance Boost 30. 02:43 It's a 30-day program. 02:45 And because the summer 02:46 is a busy time 02:47 for many people, 02:48 we're going to let you 02:49 put this program into practice 02:51 if you want to join with us 02:52 over the course 02:53 of a couple of months. 02:54 So you don't have to do it 02:55 during 30 days. 02:56 Many of you say, 02:57 well, boy, June's 02:58 I'm going to be gone 02:59 the last week of June 03:00 or 4th of July weekend, 03:02 I'm going to be gone. 03:02 That's okay. 03:03 You can still go 03:04 through this program. 03:05 So you can see the website, 03:07 TimelessHealingInsights.org 03:09 /Boost 03:10 or just visit 03:11 TimelessHealingInsights.org. 03:13 If you have trouble 03:14 with that other link 03:15 and and you can get information 03:17 about the program. 03:19 Let's come back now 03:21 to Jesus warning in Luke 21. 03:24 Remember, 03:25 He counseled about things 03:27 that sound like 03:27 they're talking about alcohol. 03:30 Quite explicitly they are. 03:32 But He also warned 03:33 about the cares of this life. 03:35 There's a concept 03:36 that we don't talk about 03:37 too much these days. 03:39 It's the concept of temperance. 03:41 Sometimes people associate 03:43 that word with alcohol. 03:45 There was this popular Women's 03:47 Christian Temperance 03:48 Union years ago. 03:50 It still does exist, I'm told, 03:51 but in a much smaller degree 03:53 than many years ago 03:55 in our country. 03:56 But this concept of temperance, 03:58 I want you to think about it 04:00 and we'll define it 04:01 in a minute. 04:01 But here it is 04:03 as Paul articulates it 04:04 in 1 Corinthians 9, he says, 04:07 Do you not know that 04:08 those who run in a race 04:10 all run, 04:11 but one receives the prize? 04:13 Run in such a way 04:15 that you may obtain 04:16 it, temperate in all things. 04:21 He then says, 04:23 I discipline my body 04:25 and bring it 04:26 into subjection, lest, 04:28 when I have preached to others, 04:31 I myself 04:32 should become disqualified. 04:34 So Paul's using this athletic 04:38 parallel. 04:39 He is comparing life 04:41 to running a race, 04:43 but he's saying 04:43 if you want to be successful 04:45 in athletics, 04:46 I know 04:47 I've got some athletes here. 04:48 Can you just do anything 04:49 you want? 04:50 Just hey, it's just basically 04:50 you just show up at the event. 04:52 Is that how it works? 04:54 No, we all know 04:55 better than that. 04:56 Even if you're not an 04:56 athlete, right? 04:58 You know, 04:58 there's a lot of training, 04:59 a lot of discipline. 05:00 This is what Paul is saying 05:02 and he's saying he is 05:03 temperate in all things. 05:04 What is he referring to? 05:06 What is this 05:06 concept of temperance? 05:08 Temperance really 05:08 has two aspects 05:09 rightly understood. 05:11 First 05:12 is using things 05:13 that are good in moderation. 05:16 So if you're a runner, 05:18 is it important to run? 05:20 Do you have to train 05:21 as part of your training, 05:22 involve running? 05:24 Yes, of course, right? 05:25 Can you run too much? 05:28 Can you overtrain? 05:30 Of course, right? 05:31 So even something that's good 05:34 can be done in excess. 05:35 But then 05:36 the other part of temperance 05:39 is total avoidance of things 05:41 which are harmful. 05:42 We've been talking about 05:43 a few of those things already. 05:44 But we're talking 05:46 from our perspective 05:48 of stress management. 05:49 We're still talking about 05:50 some of these general things 05:51 that can make you 05:52 more resilient, 05:53 make stress 05:53 less likely to affect you, 05:55 make the stressors 05:57 the things that come at 05:58 you less likely 05:59 to cause damage. 06:02 So let me give 06:03 you another example, 06:05 and that is caffeine. 06:07 I have to talk about it 06:08 because we're 06:09 talking about stress. 06:11 Do you know how caffeine works? 06:12 One of the ways 06:13 that biochemically 06:15 caffeine works. 06:16 It works by blocking 06:18 something called 06:19 adenosine receptors. 06:21 And that might not mean much 06:23 to many of you. 06:24 But adenosine is involved 06:26 with all kinds 06:26 of good things in your body. 06:29 And when you block 06:30 adenosine receptors, 06:32 in addition 06:33 to making your blood 06:35 more likely to sludge 06:36 and not flowing smoothly, 06:38 you also ramp up 06:40 stress hormones. 06:42 Are you getting this? 06:44 So if you're wondering 06:45 why you're feeling anxious, 06:47 it may not be any further away 06:49 than what? The coffeepot. 06:52 That's exactly right. 06:54 It really does. 06:54 This is how it works 06:55 physiologically. 06:56 And that's 06:57 why people use it to wake up, 06:59 because it raises 07:00 their stress hormones. 07:04 By the way, there's other ways 07:05 to raise your stress hormones 07:06 other than with caffeine. 07:09 So here's what 07:10 I hope you've been hearing. 07:12 The key message 07:13 from these general 07:14 passive strategies 07:16 as they relate to stress 07:17 is invest in your own health. 07:18 You're of value to God. 07:20 He's bought you with a price. 07:22 He's created you. 07:23 That should give 07:24 you resilience, 07:25 but also care 07:27 for your own health. 07:29 Invest in your own health. 07:31 Well, 07:32 now we want to move on 07:33 to talk 07:33 about this 07:34 couple of other areas 07:36 of stress management. 07:37 And now we want to look 07:38 at some general 07:39 active strategies. 07:40 What can you do 07:41 when you're 07:42 experiencing stress? 07:43 So we've been talking 07:44 about strengthening 07:45 your resolve, 07:45 being more resilient. 07:46 There are many 07:47 useful strategies. 07:48 We just have time 07:49 to touch on a few of them 07:51 today. 07:52 The first one 07:53 I want to give you 07:53 is to reframe or to reassess 07:58 the stressors 07:59 that you deal with. 08:00 Okay, 08:00 so we're talking about 08:02 reframing or reassessing. 08:04 That's putting your stressors 08:06 in a different 08:07 context mentally. 08:08 So instead of focusing 08:10 on the stress, 08:12 you're going to focus on 08:13 positive aspects 08:14 to the things 08:15 that seem to be negative. 08:17 You say, Well, 08:17 this sounds kind of weird. 08:18 Well, hang in with 08:19 me for a minute. 08:21 As I was 08:22 preparing to 08:23 give you this material, 08:25 I was looking 08:25 at some of the 08:26 medical literature 08:27 about this concept of reframing 08:29 or reassessing, 08:31 and I ran across an article 08:33 that was written for 08:34 health care providers. 08:36 Here's the title. 08:37 Reducing Frustration 08:39 and Increasing 08:40 Fulfillment Reframing 08:44 and the editors of this 08:46 family practice journal, 08:47 they said to better handle 08:49 challenging patients 08:50 or situations, 08:52 try modifying the way you view 08:55 them. 08:56 Now, this is not 08:57 just of relevance 08:58 to those of you 08:58 that are health care providers. 09:00 And by the way, 09:01 we thank you 09:02 for the many of you 09:02 that that serve 09:03 our communities in that way. 09:05 But this is for all of us. 09:07 We can change 09:08 how we look at the things 09:09 that come our way. 09:10 In fact, 09:11 a lot of what the Bible 09:11 has to say about 09:12 stress is focused on reframing. 09:15 Let me give you a definition 09:16 here from that medical journal. 09:18 Reframing involves 09:20 modifying your thoughts 09:21 about a challenging person 09:24 or a difficult situation, 09:26 and thus reducing frustration 09:29 and increasing empathy. 09:32 So let's take a look 09:33 at some Bible verses that deal 09:36 with this very topic 09:37 of reframing. 09:38 Here's the first one 09:39 from James 1. 09:41 James 1, beginning 09:42 with verse 2. 09:43 He begins with these words, 09:45 Count it all joy. Count it. 09:47 What is another way we could 09:49 translate that? 09:52 Reckon it, 09:54 regard it, 09:56 reappraise it. 09:59 Are you catching this reframe? 10:02 In other words, 10:03 listen to the verse. 10:05 Count it all joy, 10:06 my brothers, 10:07 when you meet 10:08 trials of various kinds. 10:10 When you meet trials, stresses, 10:12 we could say, of various kinds, 10:13 what is your first temptation? 10:15 Is it to say, 10:16 Oh, this is wonderful? 10:18 No, it's how do I avoid this? 10:20 Right. 10:20 So what James is saying 10:23 here is reckon 10:24 these things, 10:25 reframe them as being what? 10:29 Joyful, joy inducing, 10:31 count it all joy 10:33 when you go through 10:33 all these various trials. Why? 10:35 For know 10:36 that the testing 10:37 of your faith produces 10:39 steadfastness, patience. 10:41 And let steadfastness 10:42 or patience 10:43 have its full effect, 10:45 that you may be perfect 10:46 and complete, 10:47 lacking in nothing. 10:48 It's as if James is saying 10:50 one of the main barriers 10:51 in our Christian life is we're 10:52 just not patient enough. 10:54 How many of you think 10:56 this is 10:56 a problem in the world today? 11:00 I mean, 11:00 we are in this instant 11:01 gratification society, right? 11:03 If you don't have something, 11:04 what can you do? 11:06 You just go online right now 11:07 and order it, can't you? 11:09 Or do something even quicker. 11:12 Count it all joy. 11:14 God wants us to be perfect, 11:16 complete, lacking in nothing. 11:18 And it boils down 11:19 to patience and steadfastness. 11:22 I'm not there yet, okay? 11:23 I'm just going to admit, 11:24 I don't, 11:25 my first response is not always 11:26 to praise the Lord 11:27 in the face of a stressor. 11:29 But this is one 11:30 you can apply to any stressor, 11:31 it's nonspecific, 11:32 but it's active. 11:33 You have to do it right. 11:34 It's not like your skin 11:36 or your general 11:37 healthy lifestyle 11:38 that you've been following. 11:40 It's not just knowing 11:41 that you're of value to God. 11:42 Now you're going 11:42 to do something specific. 11:43 You're going to count it joy. 11:47 Here's another one for you. 11:48 2 Corinthians 4. 11:50 Another reframing. 11:52 God is going 11:53 to be glorified in your life. 11:54 Think about it this way. 11:56 Paul is writing again 11:57 to the church in Corinth, 11:58 and he says, 11:59 But we have this treasure 12:01 in earthen vessels, 12:02 that the excellence 12:03 of the power may be of God 12:05 and not of us. 12:05 We are hard 12:06 pressed on every side. 12:08 When you're hard pressed, 12:09 what would we call that? 12:12 We're stressed. 12:13 Yes, we're hard-pressed on 12:15 every side. 12:15 You might call it 12:16 something else, 12:17 but you can call it stress. 12:18 But we're not crushed; 12:19 we're perplexed, 12:20 that sounds stressful, 12:22 but we're not in despair; 12:23 we're persecuted, 12:25 that's definitely stressful, 12:27 but we're not forsaken; 12:28 we're struck down, 12:29 but not destroyed. 12:30 Always caring about in the body 12:32 the dying of the Lord Jesus 12:34 that the life of Jesus 12:36 also may be manifested 12:38 in our body. 12:38 So you catching 12:39 what's going on here? 12:41 He's saying 12:41 when you're going 12:42 through difficulties, 12:43 instead of saying, Oh, no, 12:45 this is terrible, Lord, 12:46 why are You letting 12:47 this happen? 12:49 Lord, I can't deal with it. 12:51 I'm just flesh. 12:52 I'm just an earthen vessel. 12:54 If anything's 12:55 going to come out of this, 12:56 many things 12:56 come out of my life, it's 12:57 because You're at work, 12:58 Your glory is going to be seen 12:59 in my life 13:00 in the light of 13:01 these challenges 13:02 that I'm facing. 13:03 So God is glorified 13:05 through you. 13:06 When in the midst 13:06 of your difficulties, 13:07 you allow God 13:08 to work through you. 13:10 Now, here's 13:11 another general 13:12 active strategy, 13:13 and that's surrendering 13:15 your stress, 13:16 actually giving it over to God. 13:17 Now 13:18 there's another 13:19 subject of many Bible verses. 13:21 Let me just give you a few. 13:25 Here's 13:25 the first one 13:26 from the lips of Jesus, 13:27 John 14. 13:29 Toward the very end 13:30 of Jesus ministry, 13:31 the cross is basically in view, 13:34 figuratively speaking. 13:36 Jesus 13:37 says this to His disciples 13:38 and by extension, to us. 13:40 Peace 13:41 I leave with you, My peace 13:43 I give to you; 13:44 not as the world gives 13:46 do I give it to you. 13:47 Let not your heart 13:48 be troubled, 13:49 neither let it be afraid. 13:52 He's saying in so many words, 13:53 Don't be stressed out. 13:55 He says what? 13:56 I'm giving you my peace. 13:58 You say, Okay, 13:59 but how do I accept 14:00 God's peace? 14:01 I'm dealing 14:01 with all kinds of crazy stuff. 14:03 Well, 14:04 Jesus put put it this way. 14:06 In Matthew's gospel, 14:07 Come to Me, 14:09 all ye that labor 14:11 and are heavy laden 14:12 and I will give you rest. 14:13 Can you do that right now? 14:14 I mean, 14:15 you've got stressors, things 14:16 going through your mind. 14:17 Can you imagine right now 14:18 just taking your stress 14:20 and coming to Jesus, 14:21 just coming to Him 14:22 with all that 14:22 you're dealing with? 14:25 Take My yoke upon 14:26 you, learn of Me, 14:29 gentle and lowly in heart, 14:30 and you'll find 14:31 rest for your souls. 14:33 My yoke is easy 14:35 and My burden is light. 14:38 But the Bible doesn't 14:38 stop there. 14:39 Like I said, many, many verses. 14:41 But let me give you one more. 14:44 This is a peace prescription 14:46 from the Apostle Paul. 14:48 Philippians is written by Paul 14:50 while he's in prison. 14:53 A very stressful place to be. 14:57 He says, Don't be anxious 15:00 about anything. 15:01 We could say, 15:01 Don't be worried, 15:02 don't be overstressed 15:04 by anything. 15:05 Don't get stressed out 15:06 about anything but to do what? 15:08 In every thing 15:10 and every situation 15:12 by prayer and petition 15:14 with thanksgiving, 15:16 present your requests to God. 15:18 And the peace of God, 15:20 which transcends 15:21 all understanding, 15:22 will guard your hearts 15:23 and your minds in Christ Jesus. 15:25 So you're catching this 15:26 this other theme. 15:27 We're giving it over to God. 15:28 We're giving our problems 15:29 to God, 15:30 we say, Lord, I'm 15:30 going to trust You with these. 15:32 And what are we doing? 15:33 We're thanking God. 15:35 We're rejoicing. 15:37 So you can literally, 15:39 in your mind, 15:40 give your burdens 15:41 over to Jesus. 15:42 Psalm 55 is an amazing Psalm 15:44 that speaks about this. 15:45 Let's just look at it together. 15:46 Psalm 55, a psalm of David. 15:49 He says, 15:49 Cast your burden on the Lord, 15:52 and He will sustain you. 15:54 What do you think? 15:55 Can you cast your burdens on 15:56 the Lord? 15:57 Is He big enough to 15:58 handle your burdens? 15:59 He is. 16:00 Cast your burdens on the Lord 16:01 Hesustain 16:03 you; He'll never suffer 16:04 the righteous to be moved, 16:06 never permit them to be moved. 16:07 You say, 16:08 Wait a minute, 16:08 but I'm not very righteous. 16:09 When we trust in Jesus 16:12 and we come to Jesus, 16:13 Jesus gives us 16:14 His righteousness. 16:17 He forgives you. 16:19 So He's 16:19 never going to allow you 16:22 to be lost 16:24 if you're trusting in Him. 16:27 Now, what's 16:28 crazy about Psalm 55, 16:30 we're speaking 16:30 about general things. 16:31 A lot of people say, well, 16:32 you know, general 16:33 can't be very powerful. 16:34 You have to be powerful, 16:35 it's got to be specific. 16:38 No, no, no. 16:39 This is very powerful stuff. 16:40 Psalm 55, I want 16:41 you see the context. 16:43 What is David talking about? 16:45 When is he saying 16:46 to cast your burdens 16:47 on the Lord? 16:48 I mean, it's like 16:48 some of the worst stuff 16:49 we deal with in life. 16:50 Look at this, verse 20. 16:53 My companion 16:55 stretched out his hand 16:57 against his friends; 16:58 he violated his covenant. 17:02 It's not an enemy 17:03 who taunts me, 17:05 he said In verses 17:06 12 through 14, 17:07 it's you, my companion, 17:10 my familiar friend. 17:11 We used to take sweet 17:13 counsel together. 17:14 What's going on here? 17:16 He's talking about betrayal. 17:18 He's talking about when things 17:19 the very closest people to you 17:22 betray you. 17:23 And how do you feel? 17:24 You feel like, Well, 17:25 what's the point? 17:26 How can I go on? 17:27 And what David is saying, 17:28 cast your burden on the Lord, 17:30 that he's telling you 17:32 just what he's dealing with. 17:36 Here's how bad it was for David 17:39 in verses 4 17:39 and 5, he said, 17:40 My heart is severely pained 17:43 within me, 17:44 the terrors of death 17:45 have fallen upon me. 17:47 Fearfulness and trembling 17:49 have come upon me, 17:50 and horror has overwhelmed me. 17:51 That's the context 17:52 where he's encouraging himself 17:54 to do what? 17:55 Cast his burdens on the Lord. 17:58 So just think about it. 17:59 Whatever you're dealing with, 18:01 I'm going to give that to God. 18:02 And you say, 18:03 What does that mean? 18:04 You're just saying, Lord, 18:05 I'm going to trust You, 18:06 that You're going 18:06 to take care of this problem. 18:08 And the way He takes 18:09 care of things 18:11 sometimes it's the way 18:12 humanly we'd say, 18:13 Oh, that's 18:14 how you take care of things. 18:15 But other times 18:16 it doesn't look like 18:17 the way we take care of it. 18:18 But He still takes the problem. 18:20 That's what He's saying. 18:21 He takes the burden. 18:23 Now, here's 18:23 what David was tempted to do. 18:25 In that very Psalm 18:27 verses 6 to 8. 18:28 Here's what he said. 18:29 Oh, that I had wings 18:30 like a dove. 18:32 I would fly away 18:33 and be at rest. 18:34 Indeed, I would wander far off 18:36 and remain in the wilderness. 18:38 I would hasten my escape 18:40 from the windy 18:40 storm and tempest. 18:41 I would just get out of here. 18:42 I would just 18:45 and I know sometimes 18:45 we can feel that way. 18:47 But David didn't flee. 18:50 He didn't run from 18:51 what God had called him to do. 18:53 He stayed were God 18:54 had placed him, 18:55 and he cast his burdens 18:57 on the Lord. 18:58 Let me just take a minute 18:59 with this, because this is not 19:03 a reliable general strategy 19:05 and some people rely on this. 19:07 You know, 19:07 we mentioned 19:08 some of these substances. 19:09 Some people go to substances 19:12 to deal with stress. 19:15 Now, 19:16 I don't want to 19:17 be misunderstood 19:18 because life is not all stern 19:22 and you can never take a break. 19:23 After all 19:24 Jesus Himself, you remember, 19:25 after 19:26 He sent the disciples out, 19:27 He said, come apart 19:29 and rest awhile. 19:30 This isn 19:31 㮁eaking against taking a break 19:33 and having times of rest. 19:34 We need that. 19:35 But this idea somehow 19:40 that we have to engage 19:41 in behaviors 19:43 that have negative consequences 19:45 is the problem. You see. 19:50 Any of you, if you're 19:51 struggling with addictions, 19:52 I'm not saying this 19:54 to make you feel bad 19:55 because addictions 19:57 are something, 19:58 if you want 19:59 my perspective on it, 20:00 they're part of the 20:00 human experience. 20:02 We gravitate to things 20:03 when we're under pressure 20:05 because what? 20:06 If you get consumed 20:07 by an addiction, 20:08 you're not dealing 20:10 with the other problems, right? 20:13 And so so we there's a tendency 20:15 humanity tends 20:16 to go to things 20:17 that that that captivate them 20:21 and they feel it's 20:22 doing them some good. 20:23 But the problem 20:23 with an addiction 20:25 is it's counterproductive. 20:27 It's destroying you, it's 20:28 undermining your resolve. 20:30 It does it 20:31 when someone goes to the bottle 20:32 to drown their stress, 20:34 what happens? 20:35 Does it make their problems 20:36 less or does it make them more? 20:38 You're following along. 20:39 Exactly. 20:41 Exactly. 20:41 God wants to give us something 20:43 better than any type of escape, 20:45 whether it's 20:46 an escape 20:46 with drugs or substances 20:48 or whether it's a 20:48 physical escape. 20:50 He wants us to cast our 20:51 burdens on Him. 20:53 Now, let me give you another 20:55 general active strategy, 20:57 and that is deep breathing. 21:00 And by the way, 21:02 as you go through this, 21:04 this Performance Boost 30, 21:06 if you sign up for the program 21:07 and go through it, 21:08 it's an online program. 21:10 Average is about 6 or 7 minutes 21:12 a day. 21:13 Short videos, goes 21:14 through the principles 21:15 in this book. 21:16 You will walk you through 21:18 much more 21:19 than we're exposing it today. 21:20 A lot of it has a great stress 21:24 control foundation. 21:26 So deep breathing. 21:27 How many of you have heard 21:28 this one, right? 21:29 You're under stress. 21:30 And what does someone 21:30 tell you to do? 21:33 Yeah, take some deep breaths. 21:34 Does it really work? 21:35 Is there a role for this? 21:36 Actually, deep 21:37 breathing is pretty amazing. 21:39 Um, can improve your blood 21:42 oxygenation 21:43 and oxygenation of your brain 21:45 and other tissues. 21:46 Actually can lower 21:47 your blood pressure 21:49 can help blood return 21:51 from your 21:52 your legs, 21:53 your extremities to your heart. 21:55 But here's why 21:56 I'm especially 21:56 interested in it. 21:58 Deep breathing has been shown 22:00 to increase something 22:01 called vagal power. 22:03 The vagus nerve is a nerve 22:05 that has a direct connection 22:06 with your brain, 22:08 and it's involved 22:09 in calming reflexes, okay? 22:12 So one way to help you 22:14 deal with stress is through 22:16 deep breathing. 22:16 You can use it 22:17 as a general strategy 22:19 when you're facing a stressor, 22:21 but you can also use it 22:22 on a regular basis 22:24 to increase your resiliency. 22:26 And if you 22:27 go through the program, 22:28 we'll give you some details 22:29 on how to do that. 22:30 It's basically 22:31 slow, deep breathing. 22:32 Six breaths a minute. 22:34 We say if you want to use it 22:35 on a preventive basis, 22:37 three sessions a day, 22:38 at least 2 minutes per session. 22:40 By the way, 22:41 you can practice it 22:42 during a boring sermon, 22:44 even if it's mine. 22:45 No, really, I'm serious. 22:47 And you can feel like you got 22:49 some benefit 22:50 even if you didn't 22:51 like the message. 22:53 Now let me give you a biblical, 22:54 deep breathing exercise, 22:55 and I will probably confess 22:57 when I give you this one 22:58 it is found in Psalm 9:1 and 2. 23:02 I will praise Thee 23:03 Oh Lord, with my whole heart; 23:05 I will shew forth 23:06 all Thy marvellous works. 23:08 I will be glad 23:09 and rejoice in Thee: 23:11 I will sing praise to Thy name, 23:13 O Thou most High. 23:14 How many of you see a deep 23:15 breathing exercise in Psalm 9? 23:20 It's singing. 23:22 Okay. 23:23 And I told you 23:23 I probably have to confess 23:25 to something. 23:25 They've been trying to get me 23:26 to join the men's 23:28 singing group. 23:29 I had good intentions. 23:31 I want everyone to know. 23:32 But I've not made it yet. 23:34 I don't know whether that will 23:35 change or not. 23:36 But singing is when you sing. 23:39 If you're going 23:40 to sing properly, 23:40 do you have to breathe deeply? 23:41 Yes, okay? 23:44 So 23:44 but not only 23:45 when you're singing are you're 23:46 breathing deeply. 23:47 In the Psalms, 23:49 it's speaking about singing, 23:50 especially singing what? 23:52 Praises and thanksgiving. 23:54 You know, 23:55 if you're discouraged 23:56 and you start singing praises, 23:57 what tends to happen to you? 24:00 There's a law of our being 24:02 and it goes like this. 24:04 Expression deepens impression. 24:07 So you express something, 24:09 you start 24:10 singing praises 24:11 and what's going to 24:12 happen to you? 24:14 It will tend 24:16 to pick up your spirits. 24:18 Just try it some time. 24:21 Now, we promised you some 24:23 specific active strategies, 24:25 like what do I do specifically? 24:27 Give us some general things 24:28 and laid this foundation. 24:30 Well, 24:31 let me give you the good news. 24:31 First of all, 24:32 if you go through the program 24:36 that we're 24:37 going to roll out, free program 24:40 June 2023, 24:43 we have three 24:43 whole days devoted, 24:44 especially just 24:46 to stress management. 24:47 But here's the deal. 24:48 If you're going to deal 24:49 specifically with a stressor, 24:51 you have to first identify 24:52 it, right? 24:53 A lot of people, 24:54 they come into our offices 24:55 as clinicians 24:56 and they're they're anxious. 24:58 They say, oh, I said, 24:59 what are you stressed about? 25:00 Why you feeling so anxious? 25:01 I don't know. 25:01 I just feel anxious. 25:03 I'm stressed about everything, 25:04 they might say. 25:06 Well, 25:06 unless you identify 25:08 your stressors, 25:08 you can't address them. 25:10 Jeremiah is in prison, 25:12 the Prophet Jeremiah, 25:14 he is in prison in chapter 25:15 33 of Jeremiah. 25:17 And the Lord says 25:18 this to Jeremiah. 25:19 Call to Me, 25:20 and I will answer you, 25:22 and show you great 25:23 and mighty things, 25:24 which you do not know. 25:25 If you're looking to deal 25:27 with a specific stressor 25:28 in your life. 25:30 I say 25:30 this is a 25:31 reliable prescription. 25:32 Call out to God. 25:33 Ask Him, say, show me 25:34 why am I so anxious? 25:35 What's going on, Lord? 25:37 And He will show you. 25:39 He will show you. 25:42 We have stressors 25:43 that come at us 25:44 on all levels of our being. 25:45 Physical, mental, emotional, 25:47 social and spiritual. 25:49 And the Lord 25:49 can help you identify 25:50 what's going on, 25:51 what kind of things 25:52 you need to address. 25:53 And once you identify 25:55 those things, 25:56 once you identify them, 25:58 there are two basic strategies. 25:59 One, is 26:01 you can remove the stressor. 26:02 You can get away 26:03 from some stressors. 26:04 You can address them. 26:05 If the Lord shows you 26:06 what it is, He can help you 26:07 remove it. 26:08 There's also ways, though, 26:09 that you can adapt 26:10 the stressor. 26:11 You can get it to work for you. 26:14 You say, 26:15 This all sounds very confusing. 26:16 How do I know what to do? 26:18 Well, here's 26:19 our final Bible promise, 26:21 because God wants to 26:22 not only help you 26:22 identify your stressors, 26:24 but He wants to show you 26:25 specific things you can do 26:27 in the different 26:28 areas of your life. 26:30 He simply asks us to ask. 26:33 If any of you lack wisdom, 26:35 let him ask of God, who gives 26:38 to all liberally 26:40 and without reproach. 26:42 God wants to help you deal 26:44 with the stresses in your life. 26:46 And although we've really 26:48 given you a 26:48 framework for it 26:49 and given you some insights, 26:51 there's a lot more 26:52 that we could share. 26:53 I encourage you to visit us 26:55 at TimelessHealingInsights.org 26:57 for a special journey 26:59 in the summer of 2023. 27:00 If you're listening after that, 27:02 it will be available long term 27:04 after that time. 27:05 On that note, 27:07 I want to encourage 27:07 you, though, 27:08 to put your life 27:10 in the Lord's hands. 27:11 Cast your burdens on Him, 27:13 and He'll deliver you 27:14 from your stresses. 27:17 Let's pray with that in mind. 27:19 Father in Heaven, 27:20 we thank You for the insights 27:22 You give us into 27:22 dealing with stress. 27:24 Yes, there's 27:24 practical things we can do, 27:26 but most of all 27:27 help us to just lay 27:28 our stresses at Your feet. 27:30 Give us insight, 27:32 strength and grace 27:33 to deal with them. 27:34 For we ask it in 27:35 Jesus name, Amen. 27:38 And yes, we do, as I 27:39 mentioned in the program, 27:40 have more help for you 27:42 in our free program. 27:43 We call it Performance 27:44 Boost 30. 27:46 It launches 27:47 June 24th with a live program 27:50 Saturday night at 7 p.m. 27:51 Eastern Time. 27:52 If you're catching it 27:53 after the fact, 27:53 it doesn't matter. 27:54 Just join us 27:55 at TimelessHealingInsights.org. |
Revised 2023-06-14